Engulfment in other collapsing material · Asphyxiations, strangulations, suffocations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at CLEAN HARBORS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, INC. , PBF Chalmette Refinery, CHALMETTE, LOUISIANA 70043
on — Asphyxiations, strangulations, suffocations, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee entered a tower and was vacuuming out adsorbent that was stuck to the inside walls when the adsorbent became detached from the wall and engulfed the employee. The employee suffered upper body trauma and partial asphyxiation, requiring hospitalization.
HospitalizedBODY SYSTEMSSilica
More severe injuries at CLEAN HARBORS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, INC.
An employee was preparing to offload materials at a laydown yard. He was reaching for a cable attached to a load when his leg gave out, causing him to fall from the truck and fracture his left leg.
An employee from Tractor and Equipment Company was standing on the side of a sewer pipe trench at a customer worksite. The ground caved in. The employee fell head-first into the trench and was buried up to his feet. The employee was suffocated by the soil and lost consciousness. The employee was hospitalized for a concussion and fractures.
An employee was hauling cotton seed and arrived on-site for a load. When one of the bins would not drop cotton seed, the employee opened the back gate to the trailer and stood on the cotton seed to poke the seed. The cotton seed fell, engulfing the employee. The employee was hospitalized.
On August 14, 2019, a temporary employee was cleaning out a grain bin with a vacuum system. The employee was engulfed in the grain (which was about 5 feet deep) up to about chest height. He was hospitalized, suffering from breathing issues.
An employee was operating a loader to load dry fertilizer into a truck when a wall of dry (hard) fertilizer broke loose, broke the windshield of the loader, and engulfed the loader and the employee up to the middle of his chest. He suffered breathing difficulties and leg contusions, requiring hospitalization.
The employee was dumping material from a dump truck and was struck by the material (approximately one ton of soil) resulting in a compound fracture to the leg and a broken nose.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 213112)
An employee had been cleaning the work area. While lifting a saw, the employee's index finger was lacerated by the saw blade. A tendon was cut and required surgery.
An employee was delivering home heating fuel when bees came from the ground and stung the employee's face, neck, torso, and hands. The employee proceeded to shut off the oil flow before losing consciousness. They were hospitalized due to an anaphylactic reaction.
An employee was using a torch to loosen a bolt on a water trailer. Natural gas was present in the water and it ignited, causing a fire. The employee sustained third-degree burns to their upper leg.
An employee had been conducting crane operations. The employee went to stop a piece of oil and gas equipment for tubular running from falling over to the ground. Their right hand was caught between a rolling ladder and the equipment, resulting in fractures to the index and middle fingers. They were hospitalized and the middle finger required surgery.
An employee was working to install a drive belt on a water pump. He was holding the belt on both sides of the pulley, working to route it over the top. As he pulled down with his right hand, the pulley rotated and the belt slid over it, pulling his left little finger between the pulley and the belt. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip as well as a fracture to the ring finger.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.